


"No Tears" Is The Biggest Lie Ever Told

by xphantomhive



Series: Chapters of Armin Ackerman's Life [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, M/M, Multi, bullshit "no tears" two in one shampoo and conditioner, mama bear Levi continues to be mama bear Levi, poor little Armin and his eye, teen and up because of some curses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 12:12:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2507333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xphantomhive/pseuds/xphantomhive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin burns his eye with "no tears" two in one shampoo and conditioner, and Eren sleeps over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"No Tears" Is The Biggest Lie Ever Told

Light on his feet, Armin hasn't a problem eavesdropping. He's still a child, so he doesn't really know what he's doing is wrong—but Levi never notices him. When the blonde hears him talking into the phone, he rushes quietly to hide behind the doorway and listen in. Curious by nature, he's always looking for something to keep him occupied.

"Yeah, Mikasa," He says, and Armin peeks around the corner. Levi has the phone in one hand and is stirring some food in a pot with the wooden spoon with the other. "I'm making enough dinner for five. Of course Eren can stay the night, I'm sure Armin will be ecstatic. Hmm? Oh, no, I don't hate Annie. I think she hates me." For a second, there is nothing but deafening silence; until Levi laughs. "Whatever you say Mikasa. Yep. Alright, see you in an hour."

And then there is silence again.

When Levi turns the corner unexpectedly, the young boy attempts to run, only to be caught by him in the process. "Were you listening in?"

He giggles, "For a lil'. Eren's gonna stay the night?" The raven-haired man sighs, nodding his head slowly. Sky blue eyes brighten, and he all but leaps from Levi's arms. "So am I gonna get a bath before they come over?" Levi nods again.

The bath is short and Armin gets soap in his eye, which leaves him crying—leading to it burning even worse. So, once he's in his polka dot footie pajams, he curls up on Levi's lap and cries a little more. His eye is flaming red, and the man is certain it can't feel too great. That "no tears" two in one conditioner was a complete lie.

Careful that he doesn't yank too hard, Levi runs his hands through Armin's blonde hair; still damp, but beginning to dry. "Does it feel any better, dear?" The small child sniffles, shrugging and tilting his head to show the man his eyes. The right, the one the soap had gotten into, is still red but slowly fading.

"Little," He murmurs, wiping his eyes with his arm. Levi places a feather-light kiss to his nose, and the boy giggles. "Thank you daddy." He nods, adjusting the boy so he's facing the television and is free to watch whatever is on. After ten minutes of a random show, their doorbell rings, but Armin doesn't instantly jump from Levi's lap; even if he knows who it is. He allows the man to take him to the doorway, and when he opens, Mikasa and Annie are standing on the other side, Mikasa balancing Eren on her hip.

"Come on in. Don't stand in the cold fall air for too long."

They step in, admiring the spotless house, everything perfectly arranged. "If I may ask, what's wrong with Armin's eye?" Mikasa raises an eyebrow, setting Eren down and locking her hand with Annie's.

Levi sighs, tsking. "Bullshit "no tears" two in one shampoo and conditioner."

Annie nods. "Eren has some, and when he got it in his eye he screamed so loud I thought someone was murdering him. Assholes think putting "no tears" means that they don't have to make it _not hurt_ , apparently."

Dinner is quiet, for the most part, aside from idle conversation and Eren and Armin giggling every now and then. Bedtime comes too soon, and they're being toted upstairs, read a story, and tucked into Armin's bed together. The adults leave after whispered "I love yous" and end up on the sofa, television flicked to a music station, chatting about various things.

Upstairs, the two children have kicked their covers off. "Armin, can you read a story like you used to?" Eren asks, grinning toothily.

"I can't reach the light, but I keep a flashlight under my bed. Shh, don't tell my daddy, 'kay?" He giggles, but nonetheless pinky swears to never tell Levi. "I'm gonna tell you about the planets, because they're very cool. Earth is a planet and the sun revolves around it, but there are other ones, too, and there's even one we could live on! It's called Mars, and because we could breathe up there with masks we could live there. 'Cept, the sun would eventually burn us. And there's Pluto, but Pluto doesn't count as a planet anymore, scientists said so." When Armin finishes, Eren is fast asleep next to him, clutching his arm for dear life.

Strange he hadn't noticed prior.

With a smile, he shuts the flashlight off and shoves both it and the book back under his bed. He leans over to kiss Eren's cheek, and in his sleep he murmurs, "Love you Armin. You tell good stories."

So he hadn't been fully asleep!

Armin doesn't care, though. He smiles again and responds, "Love you too. I'll tell you a fairy tail, sometime! Daddy tells me them a lot." The blonde pulls his arm out from the boys grip and lays down, Eren curling closer to him. Armin giggles, pulling the blanket further over them and cuddling closer.

And when the adults find them like that later, they smile, because kids will be kids but they hope this never changes.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is actually some of my real childhood stuff. Not kidding. Anyone else remember that "no tears" shit? I used to get it in my eyes and they burnt like hell! Which is likely why I had two characters vent about it. I hated that stuff, because it felt no better than normal two in one shampoo and conditioner.
> 
> Anyway! After a little rant about "no tears" bullshit, I've got a question: should I turn this into a story? I've been thinking about it but I would like fan opinions.


End file.
